Topical issues

Opinion: Unauthorised traveller encampments are a challenging issue for most areas. In a co-authored article, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson and Lead Policy Officer Ben Twomey argue that transit sites may offer a solution. 

Opinion: In 2014, Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis first commissioned a report into incidents police attended that involved someone with a mental illness. Three years on and Staffordshire has made considerable strides in reducing the number of those suffering mental ill health in custody, but there is still much to be done.

Interview: David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, has been elected as the Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC).  He tells Syreeta Lund what his plans are for the organisation.

ANALYSIS: Crime weighting is increasingly being considered as a way of measuring the harm from crime, not just the volume of it. But numbers alone, even weighted ones, can't tell the full story. Andy Higgins of the Police Foundation explores ways of making crime statistics more rich and useful.

POLICING INSIGHT EXCLUSIVE: In the third of our exclusive extracts from "Police Chiefs in the UK: Politicians, HR Managers or Cops?" Dr Mark Roycroft, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of East London, asks chiefs and crime commissioners for their views on the controversial issue of regionalisation, alliances and mergers.

ANALYSIS: The chief constables of Dorset Police and Devon & Cornwall Police have announced plans to explore further collaboration and closer working between the two forces including the possibility of a full merger. Ian Wiggett looks at what has changed since the failed force mergers plan of 2005

Opinion: Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl explains the impact of his Commissioner's Fund on the most vulnerable in the community.  

ANALYSIS: The latest of a monthly series in which CoPaCC's Sandra Andrews takes a look at some of the most interesting and topical issues that Police and Crime Panels across England and Wales are dealing with. This month, Sandra looks at anti-social behaviour (ASB) in London, and the difficulties in building multi-agency responses.

NEWS: This Live Blog covers Day Two of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales (PSAEW) Annual Conference 2017, taking place in Stratford upon Avon on Tuesday, 5th September 2017.

Interview: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) recently signed a seven-year £8 million contract with MASS (part of Cohort PLC) to provide a digital forensics (DF) managed service aiming to maximise integration, collaboration and efficiency. Tina Orr-Munro speaks to Chris Johnson, MASS Head of Law Enforcement Business Development.

Opinion: Dawn Probert, Senior Consultant for Skills for Justice, looks at the misconceptions of apprenticeships and the help available to those wanting to embrace enthusiastic staff.

NEWS: This Live Blog covers Day One of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales (PSAEW) Annual Conference 2017, taking place in Stratford upon Avon on Monday, 4th September 2017.

OPINION: Recent headlines about gender gaps at the BBC and at Google show that employees’ perceptions of fairness in the workplace matter - but how does that translate to a policing context? Mark Cooper of Greymalkin Consulting explores the organisational benefits of treating officers and staff with respect.

Analysis: Can greater oversight of the police complaints system bring about more public confidence and improve the way cases of discrimination are handled? Syreeta Lund writes.

POLICING INSIGHT EXCLUSIVE: The second of our exclusive and remarkably revealing extracts from Police Chiefs in the UK: Politicians, HR Managers or Cops? by Dr Mark Roycroft, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of East Anglia, explores the paucity of applications for the role of Chief Constable, as well as Chief Constables' concerns regarding the value of the direct entry recruitment scheme.

NEW REPORT: For the last few years, UK police forces have been trialling Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones. CoPaCC's latest thematic analyses the number of drones and their usage and includes contributions from key stakeholders on their potential to enhance policing.

Opinion: The challenge for any PCC is to balance the need for reform and reorganisation of services with the expectations of the public they serve. Matthew Ellis, Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire, came into office with a clear focus on modernising police processes to meet changing and more complex crimes, maintaining a strong presence in communities and ensuring value for money for the residents of Staffordshire.

ANALYSIS: Last week, the policy think tank Reform published their report on the digital future of policing, to considerable controversy. Here, serving officer Nathan Constable and Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University argue the report is lacks evidence, academic rigour, coherence, and a basic understanding of what policing is, what people want from it, or how it is held to account.

Opinion: Lt Col (Retd) Richard Dorney served in the British Army for more than 38 years. He established the Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) system in the Army and commanded the training team for three years. Here he explains the importance of strong leadership in maintaining morale and mental resiliency.

OPINION: 'Community policing' is now ubiquitous as a phrase, but increasingly, 'reassurance' is being subcontracted. Chief Supt. Owen West argues that police need to empower communities through old-fashioned dialogue, not high-tech solutions.

Analysis: With digital crime accounting for nearly half of all crime, police officers and staff need the right skills to tackle it. As Reform publishes its latest report - Bobbies on the Net - one of its authors, Reform Researcher Emilie Sundorph, examines the changes required to make forces fit to fight digital crime.

Insight: Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, David Lloyd, is working on ambitious plans to include so-called Honour Based Abuse (HBA) in future victims’ services to be delivered via Hertfordshire’s victim care centre – Beacon. Whilst reports of these crimes are rare in Hertfordshire it is likely that there is a significant number of victims that the police and other agencies are unaware of.  All victims deserve support and there is clear determination to develop a multi-agency approach to ensure that they can get it.

Insight: West Midlands Police have reported increases in both shootings and fatal stabbings. As the force steps up its enforcement tactics, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson and his office are playing an equally vital role in helping to combat violent crime. 

Opinion: The police's reliance on a paid informant who was a convicted paedophile to help convict 18 people sexually exploiting young women and girls shocked many. Adrian Kingswell, a retired Senior Investigating Officer specialising in covert policing, considers whether the time has come to be more open about police use of Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS).